Is there a cure for bone metastasis of osteosarcoma?

Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
Updated on May 16, 2025
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Is there any hope for osteosarcoma bone metastasis? If osteosarcoma develops bone metastasis, there is still hope for treatment. However, once metastasis occurs, the treatment costs, difficulty, and prognosis tend to be relatively unfavorable. Additionally, osteosarcoma itself invades and damages the bone. As the disease progresses, it stimulates osteogenesis which eventually leads to both bone formation and damage. Generally, the appearance of osteogenic changes often indicates a shift towards a better prognosis for the bone. Therefore, if osteosarcoma has metastasized, while treating the primary lesion of the tumor, it is also crucial to actively treat the metastatic sites. Thus, the difficulty of the treatment and the prognosis might not be very optimistic, but it certainly hasn't reached a point where the disease is untreatable. Therefore, once osteosarcoma metastasizes, it is recommended to visit the oncology department of a reputable hospital for systematic treatment by a doctor.

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Written by Cheng Bin
Orthopedics
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Osteosarcoma is malignant.

Regarding whether osteosarcoma is benign or malignant, it is certain that osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor with a very high degree of malignancy. Once osteosarcoma is definitively diagnosed, aggressive treatment is necessary. Surgery is the main treatment approach, aiming to perform as extensive a resection as possible, or amputation may be required when necessary. After surgery, the resected specimen must be sent for pathological examination. Based on the type of pathology, the next step in treatment, either radiotherapy or chemotherapy, will be determined to minimize the recurrence of osteosarcoma, as a recurrence can endanger the patient's life.

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Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
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Is osteosarcoma treatable?

Osteosarcoma is not about whether it can be treated, but it must be treated. Moreover, the earlier the treatment, the higher the five-year survival rate. Currently, the treatment for osteosarcoma still primarily involves comprehensive therapy centered around surgery. With the advent of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the five-year survival rate for osteosarcoma has significantly increased. Specifically, once osteosarcoma is diagnosed, extensive chemotherapy is administered before surgery. After chemotherapy, depending on the extent of tumor invasion, either radical segmental resection, limb-sparing surgery, or amputation is considered. Postoperative treatment also requires continued high-dose chemotherapy. In fact, if osteosarcoma is not treated, it metastasizes very quickly, primarily to the lungs. However, if the treatment is very early, timely, and correct, the current five-year survival rate has reached about 80%. Therefore, osteosarcoma can be treated, and the earlier the treatment, the better the outcomes.

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Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
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What is osteosarcoma?

Firstly, osteosarcoma is a common type of malignant tumor, characterized by a mechanism that produces bone-like tissue. It has multiple subtypes and can also develop into a secondary osteosarcoma. Secondly, it commonly occurs in adolescents. Thirdly, it typically affects the proximal femur, distal tibia, and proximal humerus. Fourthly, common osteosarcomas are generally spindle-shaped, often located near joints. The surface may have elevated skin temperature and sometimes superficial vein distension is apparent. It often involves the entire bone, including the periosteum, cortical bone, and bone cavity. Generally, the tumor appears as a very fine greyish-white or brownish-red fish-flesh-like change. Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor and is particularly prone to lung metastasis. According to tumor staging, it is at least stage IIB, indicating that it should be detected, diagnosed, and treated early. The earlier the treatment, the better the outcome and the higher the five-year survival rate.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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How to prevent osteosarcoma

From the perspective of osteosarcoma itself, prevention should involve active exercise, a healthy lifestyle, and a regular schedule. All of these can play a preventive role. However, as of now, there is no clear cause of what triggers osteosarcoma, and it is still unknown. For patients with osteosarcoma, we need to achieve early diagnosis and early treatment. Since many osteosarcomas occur in adolescents, if your child complains of bone pain and feels lumps, and more severely, experiences joint functional impairment, parents must be vigilant. It is advised for the patient to go to a hospital and have an imaging test done to confirm if it is caused by osteosarcoma. Therefore, early diagnosis and early treatment are best.

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Written by Guan Yu Hua
Orthopedic Surgery
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How should osteosarcoma be treated?

Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor that devours bone, commonly occurring in adolescents and young adults, typically at the proximal end of the tibia or the distal end of the femur, and at the proximal end of the humerus in the upper limbs, which is the metaphysis. The main clinical symptoms are pain, which becomes more pronounced at night, and there is generally a mass at the site, with limited movement. The local skin temperature may increase, and some may exhibit distended veins. Patients with malignant tumors generally gradually lose weight, eventually developing cachexia and even pathological fractures. Osteosarcoma is asymptomatic in its early stages, and once detected, it is usually in the middle to late stages. Radiographic examinations are necessary for diagnosis, typically showing specific changes such as Codman’s triangle or a sunburst pattern, which are characteristic of osteosarcoma. Surgery is necessary at times, to remove and examine the pathology. Common surgical approaches include resection with inactivation and reimplantation, or the insertion of a prosthesis for limb-sparing procedures, while another option is amputation, followed by extensive chemotherapy. With the rapid advancements in chemotherapy in recent years, the survival rate for osteosarcoma has generally increased significantly, typically about 50% over five years. However, early-stage pulmonary metastasis occurs very frequently with osteosarcoma, necessitating early diagnosis and treatment. The primary treatment is surgical, complemented by postoperative chemotherapy.